The Kiss Of Death
by SquintandProud-x
Summary: A Two-shot. Just a few shots of Temperance's grief shining through after she thinks Booth is dead.
1. Chapter 1

_The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them. _

Temperance shoved her key in the lock, turning it until she heard a click. She softly opened her door, pulled out her key, and walked inside. She flicked on the light, whilst dropping her keys on the side. She winced at the light, she blinked a few times to adjust her eyes, cursing the light for being bright. She shuffled deeper into the apartment, she looked around and a wave of emotions hit her.

_Anger and Pain. _

He promised never to leave her, to always protect her. Although, now he was gone and Temperance knew, that like everyone else in her life, he wasn't coming back. Her partner, her best friend, existed no more. Suddenly all the emotion drained from her and she felt numb, she couldn't feel any part of her body. She gazed around her apartment; everything remind her of him. She shook her head and charged into the kitchen area, grabbing the bin besides the fridge. She stormed back into the main living area and began to circle the area, like a lion hunting for it's prey. She grabbed a stack of magazines, the magazines he had read whilst waiting for her to change, and threw them in the bin. She grabbed the 'Hot-Blooded' Cd, the song they had sung to before he got blown up, and dropped it in with the magazines. Everything, from the vase he liked to the photographs of him and her, went in the bin.

She dropped the bin in the center of the room, not even blinking as the bang echoed through her apartment. Temperance stormed into the kitchen, throwing open drawers and searching through their contense. Finally, she had found what she had been looking for. She returned to the bin, whilst pulling out a match, and taking a deep breath. She hesistated for a moment, questioning her own logic, although she still striked the match across the gritty surface. A flame lit, it's fire reflected in her blue eyes; it reflected in her soul. She bit her lip and dropped the match into the bin, watching as the whole bin began to burn.

Any evidence of her partners life had now been destroyed. The man who she had cared deeply for, who she had feelings for which had been hidden under her cold and logic self, had now gone. And his best friend, his partner, had destroyed his memory.

"It's logical. He's gone, there is no point in remembering the past. It shall never be changed, re-written, or reversed; hence why this is logical," said Temperance.

Temperance walked back into the kitchen, she grabbed a cloth which hung over the kitchen side. She returned into the sitting room, she dropped the cloth over the bin and tried her best to put out the flames. Finally when the flames had vanished, she stepped away from the bin and stared at it. Temperance turned and fled from the living room, heading towards the bathroom. She threw open the door, carefully shut it behind her, and stood besides the bath tub. She quickly removed all her clothes, besides her underwear, and dropped them into the bath. Temperance turned the tap, water came pouring out, and she watched as the bath began to fill. Suddenly, Temperance heard her home phone ringing. She quickly switched off the tap, pulled her dressing gown on, and returned the sitting room.

"Brennan," she answered, placing the phone besides her ear.

"S-s-sweetie, are you ok ?" mumbled Angela.

Temperance realised she was crying, she could tell by her breathing and the volume of her voice.

"Yes, I'm fine, Ange. Why wouldn't I be ?" asked Temperance, firmly.

"Sweetie -"

"Ange, I've got the bath running, is it ok if I go ? I'll see you tommorow," interuppted Temperance.

She heard Angela mumble something then sniff, Temperance hung up the phone and stared at it. She knew, deep down, that she should of comforted Angela because she lost a friend too, but she just couldn't find the right words. She sighed, running her hair threw her fingers, and cursed Booth's name. It was his fault, she blamed him. He had made her weak, vunerable, dependant. Temperance shook her head; the walls around her, which Booth had destroyed a long time ago, were building themselves back up.

Temperance shuffled back into the bathroom, threw off her dressing gown, and leaned over the bath. She grabbed the sponge from the sink and began attacking her blood-stained clothes with it, tackling the blood. She scrubbed and scrubbed, her arm began to ache although she ignored the pain. The water turned a pale pink; blood and water joint as one. Finally Temperance's clothes were finally clean and she was satisfied with her work, she pulled them out of the bath and wrapped them up in a towel. Temperance pulled off her underwear, stripping down until she was completely naked, and stepped inside the bath. She worked with dead bodies, blood and what some people would class as 'yucky' things everyday, so sitting in a blood bath didn't bother her. She grabbed the sponge and squeezed it, watching as the water trickled out of it. She noticed how it was like a human and like life being squeezed out of their bodies, until they were dead. She turned on the hot tap and shoved the sponge underneath, waiting for it to become heavy with water. Temperance pulled it away and began to scrub her body, biting her lip as the hot water burnt her all over. She continued to scrub, her skin turned red as the blood.

Temperance dropped the sponge, she leant her head on her knee's and began to sob. She finally stopped, stood up and stepped out of the bath, her whole body shined with a red glow. She wrapped a towel around her small frame, a shiver ran down her spine. Temperance looked back at the bath; hot water, blood and tears all mixed together. She leant down and pulled out the plug, watching as her emotions escaped through the plug hole and vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

_The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next. _

**DAY ONE.**

Temperance groaned as her alarm clock rung out; to her, the noise was deafening. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and yawning loudly. Temperance looked around her room; the light poked through the gap in the blinds, her bedsheets had fallen to the floor somtime in the night, but everything else had remained the same. Temperance pushed herself up and out of bed, swaying slightly, and shuffled out of the room.

She walked across the hallway, pushing open the door, and stepped inside the bathroom. She shuffled over to the sink and turned the tap on, the water came gushing out. Temperance fiddled with the plug before pushing it in, the water began to rise, and she grabbed a flannel from the side of the bath. When the sink was filled with hot and soapy water, Temperance began to scrub her face and hands, whilst staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair seemed lifeless and dull, curling and flicking in odd places. Her eyes seemed blood-shot and empty, like the sparkle had been drained from them. She dropped the flannel in the sink, causing a small splash, and dried her face. She grabbed her toothpaste, lined the toothpaste along it and began to tackle her teeth. Moments later she was spitting and rising away the dirty, old water.

Temperance wandered across the hall and into her dark room, closing the door behind her. She flicked on the light and headed over to her wardrobe. Most girls would fret and worry about what they should wear, cursing their figure, and wondering if their bum looked big in a certain outfit; not Temperance Brennan. Temperance was precise and certainly not fussy, in her point of view, only her opinion mattered on how she dressed and she wasn't concerned about anyone else's thoughts. Temperance pulled on a knee-length black skirt which, unlike most woman, wasn't tight and wavered around her legs. She pulled out a blue blouse, which stopped at her elbows, and pulled it over her head. She closed the wardrobe door and stared into the mirror, gazing at her reflection. One thoughts registered in her mind; _would Booth like this outfit ?_

A tear fell from her empty eyes, rolling down her cheek, and falling from her chin. She would never find out the answer to her question. Temperance knew, deep down, that she would come across as a cold and heartless woman, yet it was how she dealt with grief. She packed up her emotions and pushed them to one side, ignoring how it made her appear. Temperance grabbed her brush and dragged it through her hair, wincing each time when it clashed with a knot. She looked into the mirror, oncemore, and sighed. A frown creased over her lips and she cocked her head to the side, gazing at herself. It was thanks to him, Temperance couldn't even say his name in her head, that she had become the person she is. He welcomed her into the world where she was treasured and loved; her true home. However, now he had gone, it felt like she was being dismissed from that beautiful place and being forced back to a harsh world that she knew as reality.

--

Temperance strutted through the lab, a small smile plastered on her face and a briefcase in her hand. No one had arrived yet, like usual, and she was first here, like usual. She pulled a pair of keys out of her blazer pocket and shoved them into her office door. She twised them, until she heard a click, and pulled them back out, pushing open the door. Temperance entered into her office, flickering on the light, and making her way over to her desk. She dropped her briefcase on her desk and sat down, switching on her computer. Temperance checked her e-mail; two of her publisher and one from ...

"Booth ?" whispered Temperance.

Temperance clicked on his name, becoming impatient as it opened slowly.

_'Bones,_

_Checker Box. Tonight._

_I'll ring you later,_

_Booth'_

Temperance sighed and leant back in her chair, frustration running through her veins. This was an old e-mail, she had already read it on the night he ...

"Dr. Brennan ?"

Temperance looked up to see her Grad Student, Zack Addy, stood in the doorway. He was already wearing his lab coat, a skull was held in his hand and a briefcase, similar to Temperance's, in the other hand.

"Zack, what are you doing here ?" asked Temperance, standing up.

"I work here, Doctor Brennan, " replied Zack, pulling a confused face. "Don't you remember ?"

"Yes, I do, Zack. Where is Hodgins and Angela ? Don't you share the same transport ?" questioned Temperance, noticing Zack was alone.

"It appears that they are grieving, Doctor Brennan, so Hodgins asked a security guard to drive me here," answered Zack.

"Grieving ?" repeated Temperance, looking to the floor and nodding her head.

"Yes, grieving Agent Booth's death. Are you expiriencing some memory loss ?" asked Zack, cocking his head to one side.

"No, I'm alright, Zack," replied Temperance, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

Zack nodded and smiled, she noticed the sympathetic look in his eyes. Zack turned and headed towards his station, mumbling something about the skull in his hand. Temperance sighed and tapped her heel, looking around the lab. She decided to go to Bone Storage, Limbo as some people had named it, and do some work down there.

--

"Doctor Brennan, what are you doing here ?" questioned Cam.

Temperance looked up from the mandible in her hand and was greeted by the sight of her co-worker and boss, Cam Saroyan. Temperance noticed the harsh bags under Cam's eyes, proving that she had hardly slept the night before. Her clothes also seemed crinkled, like they hadn't been ironed, and she seemed rather tired.

"I work here," replied Temperance, repeating Zack's earlier words.

"Yes, I know that," said Cam, a small smile unfolding over her lips. "I meant; how come you're not at home ?"

"Why would I be at home ?" asked Temperance, turning her attention back to the mandible infront of her.

"Doctor Brennan, please, don't pretend like everythings ok. It's not, I know it and so do you," sighed Cam, leaning against the doorframe.

Temperance looked up, her mouth opened, she saw Cam's devastated face, and closed it again. Temperance sighed and looked back down towards the mandible.

"I have work to do," replied Temperance, stiffly.

She listened as Cam sighed and walked away, the tapping from her high heels echoed around the room.

--

Cam walked over towards the artists office, deciding that she was the best person to talk to Temperance. Cam knocked on the door and walked in, shutting the door behind her.

"Cam! Hi, is everything ok ?" mumbled Angela.

Cam noticed Angela wipe a tear away and shove a tissue in her pocket.

"You don't have to pretend, Angela, it's ok," said Cam, smiling gently.

"It's just hard, it was so unexpected," whispered Angela, shaking her head.

Cam nodded and took a seat opposite Angela. Angela bit her bottom lip, wiped away another tear, and forcefully smiled at Cam. Cam smiled back, the same force strained her smile aswell.

"So, what's the problem ? Need a sketch ? I need something to take my mind off everything anyway," sighed Angela, closing her eyes.

"Actually, Angela, it's Doctor Brennan," replied Cam, gently.

"Is she alright ? Is she ok ? What's wrong ?" questioned Angela, quickly.

"Nothing, Angela, she's perfectly fine. It's just, she's down in Limbo -"

"Is she compartmentalizing, or whatever ?" interuppted Angela.

"Seems to be," frowned Cam, sighing.

"I'll go and talk to her," smiled Angela, standing up.

"Thanks," said Cam.

Angela smiled and nodded. She walked out of the door and headed towards Limbo.

--

"Sweetie! What are you doing here ?" questioned Angela.

"I work -"

"You shouldn't be here!" frowned Angela, cutting off Temperance.

Angela stood besides Temperance, pulling the bones away from her, and tapping her foot. Temperance streched out her arms, trying to get back her bones, yet Angela pushed them further away.

"Ange! I need my bones," sighed Temperance, pointing to the bones which were now on the opposite side of the table.

"No, you don't. Listen, sweetie, I love you. Alot. But, you shouldn't be here! You just lost your -"

"I haven't got time for this," said Temperance, shaking her head.

"Sweetie -"

"No, Ange! I haven't got time!" repeated Temperance, walking out of the room.

"Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it!" cried Angela, shaking her head.


End file.
